Artificial textile products



Oct. 16, 1962 4o PICKS PER INcI-I I40 DEN.(20+6) FIL. ITURN PER INcH 4OPICKS PER IN I40 26 TURNS PER INCH 56 PICKS PER INcH oEN.(Is+s) FIL uRNPER INcH 84 ENDS PER INCH I40 DEN.42 FIL FIG. 6

84 ENDS PER INcH I40 oEN.(2o+e)FII.. I TURN PER mm FIG. 7

DEN. (20+6) 84 E PER INcI-I I40 .(zow) FIL. 20 ms PER mm FIG. 8

9o PICKS PER INcH I00 DEN.(20+6) FIL. ITURN PER INCH 96 ENDS PER INcHI00 DEN.(20+6) FIL. I'ruRN PER INcH fwlczwimm Unite 3,058,290 ARTIFHIEALTEXTILE PRODUCTS Leslie Brisbane Gibbins and Reginald Henry John Riley,

Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to British Celanese Limited, acorporation of Great Britain I Filed Ian. 15, 1957, Ser. No. 634,243

Claims priority, application Great Britain Jan. 20, 1956 9 Claims. ((11.57140) This invention relates to artificial textile products and theirproduction, and particularly to artificial continuous filament yarns andfabrics made from them.

Artificial continuous filament yarns have been made in a wide range offilament deniers, and yarns of coarse filament denier have been woveninto fabrics along with other yarns of finer filament denier to producevarious effects. It has now been found that highly desirable effects,including a desirable crispness of handle without the harshness commonlycharacteristic of the use of coarse-denier filaments, and otheradvantages, can be obtained in fabrics by the use of yarns comprisingfilaments of coarse denier and filaments of finer denier in admixture inthe yarn.

According to the present invention, therefore, a yarn suitable forweaving into a fabric, consists of continuous filaments of which some ofthe filaments are fine and some coarse, the finer filaments being from/3 to /s and preferably /3 to /s of the filament denier of the coarserfilaments and being at least twice as numerous. The total denier of thefine filaments should be the same order as the total denier of thecoarse filaments, the ratio of total denier ranging from, say, aproportion of 2:1 to a proportion of 1:2. In this way, by avoiding agreat excess by weight of the coarser filaments, it can be ensured thatthe finer filaments are not substantially lost in the spaces between thecoarser filaments but are exposed on the surface of the mixed-filamentyarn.

The fine filaments employed for the purposes of the present inventionare preferably of generally roundish cross-section, of the type known asbulbous, the spinning conditions under which the filaments are producedby extrusion being adjusted to give such sections. While the coarserfilaments may also be of roundish cross-section, it is highly desirablethat they should be of elongated cross section, i.e. of across-sectional shape having a length which is greater than its breadthin the ratio, taken as an average over the plurality of filaments, of atleast 522. The length of the cross-sectional shape referred to need notbe a straight length but may be curved into a horeshoe, S, or otherirregular form. Filaments having an elongated section of the first type,and thus of ribbonlike cross-section and form can be produced by the useof elongated or slot-like spinning orifices. Filaments of the secondtype, with an elongated but irregular crosssectional shape, can beproduced from round or roundish spinning orifices by an appropriateselection of the spin ning conditions employed.

The mixing of the coarse and fine filaments in the yarns employedaccording to the invention is brought about by spinning filaments of thetwo types simultaneously in the same spinning cabinet, and associatingthem as a thread or bundle to be twisted into a yarn immediately uponand continuously with their production by extrusion. Preferably the twokinds of filaments are extruded not only in the same cabinet, but fromthe same jet, through jet orifices formed therein of different sizes,and preferably of different shapes. It is a further advantage of the useof filaments of elongated cross-section that they can be spun at thesame high linear speed and under the same spinning conditions as thefine filaments, whereby the production of a mixture of filament deniersin this way is made commercially practicable. Alterna- 'ice tively,however, filaments of either type may be spun first and brought intoadmixture with the filaments of the other type as the, filaments of saidother type are spun, eg, as the latter emerge from the spinning cabineton their way to a twisting and winding device. In this case it isdesirable to avoid any twisting together of the preformed filamentsbefore they are associated with the other filaments, which might causethe preformed filaments to associate together as a group instead ofintermingling in the finished yarn with the other filaments. Or again,filaments of both types may be spun separately and associated togetherin a further separate operation, e.g. an operation of rewinding withtwisting. Here again, it is desirable to avoid the twisting together ofthe filaments of either type before association with the otherfilaments.

The invention is of especial advantage in connection with the spinningof filaments of cellulose acetate, whether of an acetone-soluble type ofcellulose acetate, or of a cellulose triacetate, i.e. of an acetyl valueabove 59% reckoned as acetic acid. Filaments of other materials,however, may be employed, for example filaments of other organicderivatives of cellulose such as cellulose propionate and cellulosebutyrate, filaments of reconstituted cellulose such as viscose andcuprammonium filaments and filaments produced by the saponification ofcellulose acetate filaments, or filaments of wholly synthetic materialssuch as Nylon 66, polyethylene terephthalate, polyacrynonitrile and thelike. The yarns may woven into fabrics in any convenient way and by anyappropriate weave. They may constitute the whole or at least asubstantial part of either the warp of the woven fabric, or the weft orboth. Furthermore, while the invention is of particular importance inrelation to woven fabrics, fabrics can be produced from the yarns byknitting, netting, lace making or like fabric-forming operations.

The following are given as examples of yarns and methods of making themin accordance with the present invention, and of woven fabrics madetherefrom.

Example 1 A solution of cellulose acetate in a volatile solvent is spuninto an evaporative atmosphere through a spinning jet having 20 spinningorifices formed therein, 15 of them being circular orifices of 0.06 mm.diameter and the remaining 5 being rectangular slots of 0.2 mm. x 0.04mm. The resulting yarn is drawn down to give a total denier of andconsists of 15 filaments each of 3 filament denier and of roundish,bulbous cross-section together with 5 filaments of a filament denier ofthe order of 12 and having a cross-section which is fiat with slightlybulbous ends. The 20 filaments are associated together continuously withtheir extrusion with a twist of 1 turn per inch Z twist and are woven asweft at 56 picks per inch in a plain weave across a warp of celluloseacetate yarn of denier and consisting of 42 uniformly fine and slightlypigmented filaments, the warp being spaced in the reed at 84 ends perinch. The resulting fabric, after finishing, is crisp in handle andresistant to creasing, the handle of the fabric being similar to that ofa spun silk fabric.

Example 11 A yarn is spun in a manner similar to that described inExample 1, except that the spinning jets contain 15 circular orifices of0.06 mm. diameter and 5 orifices of semicircular shape having a straightside (i.e. the bounding diameter) 0.13 mm. long. The resulting 100denier yarn has 15 filaments each of 3 filament denier and of roundish,bulbous cross section as in Example I, and 5 filaments of a filamentdenier of the order of 12 and having a crosssection which is of U orhorseshoe shape. The yarn is woven into a fabric as in Example 1.

Example III A yarn is spun as in Example I but through a spinning jethaving 26 spinning orifices therein, 20 of which are of circular shapeand of 0.05 mm. diameter, while the remaining 6 are of semi-circularshape with a straight side of 0.12 mm. in length. The extruded filamentsare drawn down at such a rate as to give a yarn having a total denier of140, consisting of 20 filaments each of 3 filament denier and ofroundish, bulbous cross-section together with 6 filaments of a filamentdenier of the order of 13 and having a cross section of U or horseshoeshape. The filaments are twisted together continuously with theirextrusion with a twist of 1 turn per inch and are woven into a fabric asboth warp and weft, plain weave, the warp having 84 ends per inch andthe weft 40 picks per inch.

Example IV A yarn is spun as in Example III and is then retwisted to 20turns per inch and is woven, as both warp and weft into a fabric as inExample III. The resulting fabric has the character of a voile fabric.

Example V A yarn is spun in a manner similar to that described inExample III, except that the spinning jet contains 20 round holes of0.04 mm. diameter, and 6 semicircular holes with a straight side of 0.1mm., while the rate of drawdown is such as to give a yarn having a totaldenier of 100. The 20 fine filaments of the yarn have a filament denierof 2.2 and the remaining 6 a filament denier of the order of 9. Theresulting yarn, twisted continuously with its production to 1 turn perinch, is woven into a fabric as both warp and weft, plain weave, thewarp having 96 ends per inch and the weft 90 picks per inch.

The cross-section of the yarn of the above example, and the fabricsthereof, are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGS. 1-4 are diagrammatic cross-sectional views of the yarns ofExamples I, II, III and IV, and V respectively, and

FIGS. -8 are diagrammatic representations of portions of the fabrics ofExamples I and II, III, IV, and V respectively.

Having described our invention, what we desire to secure by LettersPatent is:

1. A yarn consisting of continuous filaments in which yarn some of thefilaments are uniformly fine and some are uniformly coarse, the finerfilaments being from /3 to /s of the filament denier of the coarserfilaments and at least twice as numerous, the ratio of the total denierof the finer filaments to the total denier of the coarser filaments isbetween 2:1 and 1:2, and the coarser filaments have an elongated crosssectional shape having a length-to-breadth ratio of at least 5:2.

2. A yarn according to claim 1, wherein the cross sectional shape of thecoarser filaments is curved into horseshoe form.

3. A yarn according to claim 1, wherein the cross sectional shape of thecoarser filaments is substantially straight with bulbous ends.

4. A yarn according to claim 1, wherein the finer filaments are ofroundish cross section.

5. A cellulose acetate yarn according to claim 1, wherein the finerfilaments are of roundish cross section and of the order of 3 denier perfilament while the coarser fila ments are of the order of 12 denier perfilament.

6. A yarn according to claim 5, consisting of 15 of the finer filamentsand 5 of the coarser filaments, the latter having a cross section ofhorse-shoe form.

7. A woven fabric of which a substantial proportion of the yarns areyarns claimed in claim 1.

8. A woven fabric of which the weft consists of yarns claimed in claim1.

9. A yarn according to claim 1 in which substantially the coarserfilaments and the liner filaments are of the same length.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,058,551 Beattey Oct. 27, 1936 2,262,872 Whitehead Nov. 18, 19412,271,184 Dreyfus Jan. 27, 1942 2,302,555 Klammroth Nov. 17, 19422,369,395 Heymann Feb. 13, 1945 2,373,892 Hickey Apr. 17, 1945 2,433,325Slaughter Dec. 23, 1947 2,461,094 Taylor Feb. 8, 1949 2,520,502 HauxAug. 29, 1950 2,750,653 White June 19, 1956 2,831,748 Finlayson et alApr. 22, 1958

1. A YARN CONSISTING OF CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS IN WHICH YARN SOME OF THEFILAMENTS ARE UNIFORMLY FINE AND SOME ARE UNIFORMLY COARSE, THE FINERFILAMENTS BEING FROM 1/3 TO 1/8 OF THE FILAMENT DENIER OF THE COARSERFILAMENTS AND AT LEAST TWICE AS NUMEROUS, THE RATIO OF THE TOTAL DENIEROF THE FINER FILAMENTS TO THE TOTAL DENIER OF THE COARSER FILAMENTS ISBETWEEN 2:1 AND 1:2, AND THE COARSER FILAMENTS HAVE AN ELONGATED CROSSSECTIONAL SHAPE HAVING A LENGTH-TO-BREADTH RATIO OF AT LEAST 5:2.